Premium takes over bars: Gin tops, agave explodes, Japanese malt pip Scotch

125 bars, 552 brands, 17 cities: What India is really drinking in 2025

India’s drinking habits are having their “premium revolution” moment. The country that once equated “weekend drinking” with cheap beer, IMFL whisky and Old Monk nostalgia is now sipping Rs 12,000 agave, Rs 14,000 small-batch gin, and bourbon finished in Italian wine casks — sometimes in the same evening.

 

Behind the evolution is a cocktail of rising incomes, global exposure, and a new breed of urban Indians who want their drinks to say something about taste, identity and experience. And this shift is reshaping a ₹3.9 lakh-crore industry faster than most analysts imagined. 30BestBarsIndia, in partnership with The Outlier, have released the 2025 edition of What India Is Drinking (WIID) report and it appears Bombay Sapphire, Don Julio, Grey Goose, Johnnie Walker, Bacardi, Yamazaki, Oaksmith, are now leading India's drinking preferences. 

 

 

Market leaders Johnnie Walker, Jameson, Glenfiddich, Indri, Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire, Bacardi, Corona, Kingfisher, Jacob’s Creek, Sula, Moet & Chandon, Hennessy, Jägermeister and Campari have retained the top positions from 2024 in their respective categories. The only significant change is in the Agave category, where Don Julio replaces Patron as the leader. Oaksmith has emerged as the top brand in the newly introduced Indian Premium Whisky category, while Yamazaki is the leader among International Single Malts, and Cinzano replaces Martini as the most popular Sparkling Wine. 

 

Across categories, one theme dominates: India is drinking the world.

 

• Italian brands dominate Aperitif & Amaro (9 of the top 10).
• Japanese whiskies dominate International Single Malt (7 of 10), with Yamazaki at #1.
• Peruvian Pisco, Japanese Umeshu, Italian Limoncello, and South African Amarula enter the lists.
• The top Sparkling Wine is Cinzano (Italy), while Champagne is led by Moët & Chandon.

 

Indian spirits continue their upward trajectory. Camikara strengthened its position in Rum while Oaksmith helms Indian Premium Whisky. In Gin, Hapusa, Greater Than, and Stranger & Sons retained strong relevance, and Jaisalmer entered the Top 10. The growing participation of Indian craft producers is reflected in the fact that 69 homegrown brands now feature across category Top 10s, marking a year-on-year increase in domestic brand prominence. 

 

The big changes in the non-alcohol category include Coca-Cola ousting Schweppes tonic as the leader in the Mixer category, and Perrier emerging as the most popular Water brand, replacing Himalayan. 

 

As for Cocktail preferences at the bars, Picante, not surprisingly, toppled Margarita from its leadership position in the Agave category. Negroni retained its top position amongst Gin cocktails;

 

Espresso Martini replaced Cosmopolitan as the most popular Vodka cocktail; Daiquiri emerged as the leader in the Rum category, and Old Fashioned has taken over from Whisky Sour as the leader among Whisky cocktails. 

 

"2025 shows a settling of long-term consumer behaviour alongside pockets of sharp change. Categories like Gin, Scotch, Aperitifs and Agave continue to be led by global giants, but the pace at which Indian brands are consolidating their presence is significant. The city-level variations are sharper this year; what sells in a Bengaluru cocktail bar looks different from what leads in Jaipur," said Radhakrishnan Nair, Co-Founder of 30BestBarsIndia.

 

4. Vodka Is Luxurious Again — and Grey Goose Is King

 

Vodka’s premium wave continues:

 

Grey Goose

Absolute

Belvedere

Ketel One

Haku

Smirnoff drops to #9, indicating a dramatic shift toward luxury vodkas, and only one Indian brand (Short Story) survives in the Top 10.

 

Liqueurs Are Hot — Blame It on Espresso Martinis

 

Jägermeister, Baileys, and Kahlúa remain the holy trinity.

Indian brand Quaffine becomes the go-to coffee liqueur (#6), while Cazulo Feni enters the Top 10. Choya Umeshu (#5) shows Indians’ increasing love for sweet-sour Asian flavours.

 

Rum Is Having a Craft Moment — Camikara Enters at #3

 

This is big:

Camikara, an Indian craft rum, debuts at #3, tied with Diplomatico.

Old Monk retains #2, proving nostalgia is unbeatable.

Three Indian brands are in the Top 10, and micro-distilleries in Goa and Mysore signal a boom.

 

Indian Single Malt Dominates India — 53% of Market Now Indian

 

According to CIABC and IWSR data cited in the report:

 

Indian single malts now hold 53% of the national single malt market, overtaking Scotch for the first time.

Top performers:

 

Indri

Paul John

Godawan  

 

Beer: Craft, Low-Cal, and "Anything But Kingfisher"

 

India’s beer drinker has evolved from “strong beer only” to a subculture that wants:

 

Hefeweizens from taprooms

 

Low-carb lagers

 

IPAs with mango, kokum, or Himalayan hops

 

Zero-alcohol clubbing beers

 

Brands like Bira, Simba, White Owl, Geist and Gateway Brewing have carved out cult followings.

 

Trend: The biggest spike is in premium craft cans priced at ₹180–₹300, especially among women and first-time drinkers.

 

Gin: The Queen of the Indian Bar Shelf

 

India is in the middle of a gin renaissance. Ten years ago, gin barely existed on menus. In 2025, we have:

 

Greater Than

 

Hapusa

 

Jin Jiji

 

Terai

 

Samsara

 

Tamras

 

Short Story

 

Nine Rivers

 

Plus global icons like The Botanist, Roku, Hendrick’s, Monkey 47 now doing massive volumes.

 

What’s driving the gin wave?

 

Botanicals = “India’s terroir moment”

 

Instagram-ready cocktails

 

High female adoption

 

Home bartending boom

 

Every urban Indian knows someone who has become a “gin snob”. It’s now personality, not just alcohol.

 

Whisky: Still King, but Crowned with Single Malts

 

India remains a whisky nation, but what kind of whisky has changed completely.

 

The three fastest-rising segments are:

 

1. Indian single malts

 

Paul John

Amrut

Indri

Kamet

Rampur

 

These labels are now winning global blind tastings, beating Scottish giants.

 

2. Premium Scotch and Bourbon

 

From Glenmorangie to Macallan to Maker’s Mark, premium imports have doubled in metro bars.

 

3. Collector Editions

 

Limited releases now sell out in minutes — whisky is no longer a drink, it’s a flex.

 

The ₹7,000–₹15,000 price bracket is where the biggest action is.

 

Wine: From “Fancy” to “Accessible”

 

Wine is finally having its mainstream moment.

 

What’s changed?

 

Homegrown wineries like Sula, Krsma, Fratelli, York, Grover are getting serious respect.

 

Sparkling wine and rosé consumption is rising fast among younger women.

 

Supermarkets now stock wines at ₹1,200–₹2,000, an approachable range.

 

More Indians are doing:

 

Wine + cheese nights

 

Winery vacations

 

Wine tastings

 

Gifting personalised bottles

 

Wine is now less “posh” and more “Instagram-social”.

 

The Cocktail Explosion

 

India’s young consumers judge restaurants by their cocktail menu.

 

The biggest cocktail trends:

 

Clarified cocktails

 

Fat-washed whisky

 

Agave-based drinks

 

Local ingredients like kokum, aam panna, Kerala pepper, turmeric

 

Low-alcohol, pretty-looking drinks

 

Bars in Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru and Delhi are now competing in Asia’s 50 Best Bars list and proudly show off “mixology lab” setups.

 

gave, Rum, and Everything Unexpected

 

India is discovering:

 

Agave spirits (DesmondJi, Pistola)

 

Premium rums (Makazai, Segredo Aldeia)

 

Bespoke meads (Arka, Moonshine Meadery)

 

Homegrown vodka with botanicals

 

There’s a real willingness to experiment beyond the whisky-beer binary.

 

What Premium Really Means Now

 

Premium used to mean price. Now it means:

 

Age statement

 

Story

 

Barrel finish

 

Craft

 

Limited edition

 

Ingredient provenance

 

Mixology potential

 

Social positioning

 

Premium is no longer a category. It’s a lifestyle identity.

 

The wealth angle: 

1. Drinking is now about experience more than quantity

 

India’s young professionals drink less but spend more per drink.

 

2. Premium alcohol is now a gifting and investment category

 

High-end whisky and gin see festive spikes of 200–300%, and rare bottles appreciate in value.

 

3. Urban India sees alcohol as part of “modern luxury living”

 

Top bars, cocktail festivals, curated tastings and subscription clubs are booming.

 

So What Is India Drinking in 2025?

 

Workday: Low-cal beer

 

Weekend: Craft cocktail at a speakeasy

 

Dinner party: Indian single malt

 

Brunch: Rosé

 

Solo nights: Small-batch gin

 

Gifting: Premium Scotch

 

Experimenting: Agave or mead

 

In short: India is drinking better, not more — and it’s having fun doing it.